Page 54 of No Rings Attached
Needless to say, it didn’t flipping work.
I crossed to Drew, and he immediately pulled me between his legs so my back rested against his front. His arms came around me, solid and warm. One hand settled over my stomach, right where the knots were the worst.
How did I get so lucky?
He drew in a deep, slow, exaggerated breath. “Breathe. In and out. Do it with me.” His chest expanded—slow and deliberate. I tried to match it, but my lungs stuttered, catching on the anxiety lodged in my throat.
“They’re just people,” I whispered, trying to convince myself. “Just my mother and sister. I’ve survived them my whole life.”
“You have.” His voice rumbled through me, steadier than my own thoughts. “And you’ll survive tonight too. But you don’t have to do it alone this time.”
This time.
The words settled something in me, the elusive calm I was searching for blanketed my body. He was right—I’d always faced them alone. Always tried to be small enough, good enough, quiet enough, to avoid their cutting remarks and cruelty.
When my breathing became steadier, he shifted his hand to my shoulders. The first squeeze of my tight muscles made me groan with relief. “That feels amazing. Don’t stop.”
I felt the smile on his lips when he leaned down and kissed the crown of my head. “Tell me two red things you see.”
Two red things? What was this witchcraft? “Um, okay. The leaves in the tree across the street and the pot holding flowers at the end of the porch.”
“Excellent.” His husky voice purred in my ear and a delighted shiver slid down my body.
Damn, hearing him praise me was incredibly sexy.
“Three things that are orange.”
“Three? That’s a much harder color to find.” Still not understanding why he was asking me to do this, yet loving the distraction it provided, I searched the street.
He chuckled when I started muttering under my breath,stupid orange. “Oh, wait! The neighbors never put away their pumpkin. I found one thing! That should be enough, right?”
“Nope.” His fingers dug deeper, hitting a spot that hurt so good.
“Fine.” I knew I sounded grumpy.
Drew continued to massage my shoulders as he patiently waited for me to continue.
The desire to both please him and figure out what kind of game we were playing drove me to continue. I concentrated harder, and finally noticed various tiny orange details around us that I’d missed. “The mums in Martha’s garden. And the sun setting. It’s really pretty tonight, don’t you think?”
“Not as pretty as you.”
Swooooooooon.
Was he saying it because he meant it, or because he was pretending?
I dropped my head back and looked up so I could see his face. “You’re a goober.”
He kissed my forehead. “Now green. Two items. And flowers don’t count. Nor grass”
“Are you going to tell me why I’m doing this?” I faced forward again.
“Green, Ellie,” he repeated. He squeezed up and down my arms. I wouldn’t have known I held this much tension in my arms until his magical hands proved it to me.
His cryptic answers only made me even more curious. “The house down the street and your sneakers,” I replied.
Drew had suggested we change after work, and I had a feeling it was so I felt more comfortable. Logically, I knew it was futile to compete with Celia, but my instinct always told me to dress up. Yet, that instinct hadn’t helped in the past, so I agreed to try something new. My sister always looked gorgeous no matter what she wore, even when traveling, and I was tired of competing with her.
My muscles, one-by-one, locked up again as worries swam in my head faster than I could shoo them away. What if Drew liked Celia better than me? We weren’t in a real relationship. He didn’t have to keep pretending. I should’ve shown him her picture before I let him commit to this. I mean, my ex-boyfriend preferred my sister over me. Why wouldn’t Drew?
